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Board of Directors and Staff


2012 Board of Directors at "Night of the Imperial Dragon" on November 2, 2012.

President, Wynne Kelly, Esq.

Wynne Kelly, Esq.
wkelly@daveneefoundation.org

Wynne is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wynne was an Associate in the Miami office of Hunton & Williams LLP.  Wynne joined Hunton after clerking for Judge K. Michael Moore, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. Wynne graduated from Fordham Law in 2005.  At Fordham, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham International Law Journal and Associate Editor of the Fordham Moot Court Board.  Wynne was also a Highbridge Fellow and worked with Legal Services of New York in the South Bronx representing low income clients in various administrative proceedings.

Prior to attending law school, Wynne was a certified teacher at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia where he taught English and coached football and baseball.  Wynne received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

Wynne met Dave Nee on the first day of law school and shared countless conversations with Dave on important topics like international law, foreign policy, and the National League East Division.

Vice President, Alexandra Nee

Alexandra Nee
anee@daveneefoundation.org

Alexandra joined the Board in 2007, and serves on the Events and Grants sub-committees. Currently, Ms. Nee is a consultant with McKinsey & Co.  Prior to McKinsey, Ms. Nee worked in the tech and non-profit fields.  She is the first Washington, D.C. Site Director for StreetWise Partners, a non-profit organization with a mission to build mentoring relationships between low-income individuals and volunteer business professionals to develop workplace skills and employment networks as the bridge to a successful career.  In this role, Ms. Nee led the nonprofit’s corporate relations, fundraising, and program operations and expansion in the region. In addition, Alexandra developed the nonprofit’s outcomes surveys and reporting for both the New York and Washington DC offices. Alex comes to the Dave Nee Foundation after graduating with high honors in Religion from Princeton University, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and professional experience starting successful non-profit ventures.

Dave Nee was Alexandra’s wonderful older brother, and her commitment to the Foundation is motivated both by indelible impact of his life on hers, and the mission of the organization to eradicate the stigma of depression and create a world where no one struggles alone in silence.

Secretary, Anne Buckman Calder, Esq.

Anne Buckman Calder, Esq.
abuckman@daveneefoundation.org
917-584-5627 mobile

Since late 2010, Anne has served as a Counselor for the Abernathy MacGregor Group, a strategic communications firm.  Before her time with Abernathy and MacGregor, she served as a corporate associate at the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, specializing in the practice area of Mergers & Acquisitions. 

Anne graduated from Fordham Law School in 2005.  She had the privilege of meeting Dave in her first year at the law school and the honor of counting him as one of her friends during those three years.  She is still in awe of Dave's intelligence, warmth, and unparalleled sense of humor.  While a student at Fordham, Anne was an Editor of the Fordham Moot Court Board and represented Fordham in the J. Braxton Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition earning the position of semi-finalist.  Prior to attending law school, Anne was an associate at the strategic communications firm of Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery in New York.  Anne earned her B.A. in English from Boston College and graduated with honors.  Anne was elected to the Board in January 2010.

Anne currently lives in Houston with her husband Andy, a partner at Simpson Thacher, and their two children.

Treasurer, Anne-Marie Peterson

Anne-Marie Peterson
apeterson@daveneefoundation.org
917-584-0996 mobile

Anne-Marie is a Vice President in the Financial Sponsors investment banking group at Credit Suisse. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Anne-Marie was a Vice President in the Leveraged Finance investment banking group at Lehman Brothers where she focused on corporate financing transactions, leveraged buy-outs and also M&A advisory. Previously, she was a Vice President at Deutsche Bank within both the Leveraged Finance and Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging investment banking groups.

Anne-Marie began her career as a financial analyst at Bear Stearns within the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging investment banking group. Anne-Marie graduated from Columbia Business School in 2000 with a concentration in real estate finance and attended both Trinity College and Harvard University as an undergraduate. She holds both a series 7 and series 63 registration.

Anne-Marie has been a volunteer in the fundraising division of the New York Junior League since 2004 and received her certification in Nonprofit Board Membership from the Nonprofit Boards Clearinghouse (a division of the NYJL) in the fall of 2009. Anne-Marie has been a member of the Student Sponsor Partners Leadership Committee since 2006. She was co-chair of the inaugural Back-to-School Benefit in 2008 and was also co-chair of the 2009 Back-to-School Benefit.

Director, Kathryn Beaumont Murphy

Kathryn Beaumont Murphy
kebmurphy@gmail.com

Kathryn Beaumont Murphy is a literary agent and attorney in Boston. She practices publishing, media, entertainment, nonprofit organizations, and general intellectual property law at the firm Stern Shapiro Weissberg & Garin LLP and is an agent at the affiliated Kneerim & Williams Literary Agency. Prior to her law career, she spent close to 10 years as a reporter, writer, and editor for publications including People magazine, Technology Review, and the Idaho Mountain Express. Her writing has appeared in the Washingtonpost.com, The BusinessWeek Guide to Best Business Schools (McGraw-Hill) and, most recently, Torn: True Stories of Kids, Career & Modern Motherhood (Coffeetown Press).
 
Kathryn holds degrees from Princeton University, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and Boston College Law School. A wine lover and amateur cook, yogini, runner, and pop culture junkie, she lives just outside of Boston with her husband and two small children. She was first introduced to Dave Nee's charm as a member of the same eating club at Princeton and is grateful to be involved with the foundation that bears his name.
Director, Annie Farrenkopf

Annie Farrenkopf
afarrenkopf@daveneefoundation.org
(914) 329-5397

Annie recently completed her Masters of Professional Studies in Education at Manhattanville College. She received dual certification in General and Special Education, grades 1 to 6.  She graduated from Iona College in 2007 with a Bachelors in Social Work and continued her social work education receiving a Masters in Social Work at Fordham University in 2008.

Community service and volunteering have always been important to Annie.  She started Iona College's AFSP chapter and led the college's first efforts to address student depression and suicide.  She organized fundraisers both at Iona and in Westchester to fund AFSP's education programs.  She has also volunteered for two summers at Camp Viva, an organization that provides respite to HIV/AIDS patients and their children.

Annie is a lifelong friend of the Nee family.  Some of her first memories are of playing board games with Dave's sister, Alex, while Dave supervised and dispensed his legendary advice on strategy.

Annie currently teaches Engligh Language Arts at an After School Program in New Rochelle, NY. Annie can often be found walking her Shih Tzu, Teddy, on the streets of Greenwich, CT, where they live.
 

Director, James Hyre, Esq.

James Hyre, Esq.
jhyre@daveneefoundation.org
+852 6407 7877 international mobile

James joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in 2008 as an Associate in the US Corporate group.  He currently works in Freshfields' Hong Kong office.  Prior to Freshfields, James worked in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP where he was an Associate in the Corporate group.  James has been on the board of the Foundation since 2006. He studied History at New York University and Law at Fordham University, where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review. 

Director, S. Starling Marshall, Esq.

S. Starling Marshall is a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Tax Division, Court of Federal Claims Section, and also serves as a detailee to the Department's Office of Legal Policy where she assists in pre-nomination vetting of candidates for nomination to the United States District Courts. Before joining the Department of Justice, Ms. Marshall practiced civil litigation in the New York office of Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett. Ms. Marshall also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Victor Marrero on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ms. Marshall received her J.D. from Fordham University's School of Law, where she served on the editorial board of the Law Review and was an associate editor of the Moot Court Board; she received her B.A. from Emory University. Ms. Marshall is also an adjunct Professor at American University's Washington College of Law, serves as President of the Fordham Law Alumni Association's DC Chapter, and is the Chair of JLW's Bright Beginnings Committee, which serves homeless children and their families in DC. 

Starling had the honor and pleasure of working with Dave on Fordham's Moot Court Board, which gave her a front row seat to witness Dave's equally piercing wit and intelligence.
 

Director, Claire Nee Nelson

Claire Nee Nelson
cnelson@daveneefoundation.org

Claire is pursuing a Ph.D. in American History from Yale University, where she also received an M.A. in Political Science in 2001.  Claire graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1996, and spent two years working in New York with the District Attorney’s office in Manhattan, the Bar Association of the City of New York, and the Century Foundation, a public policy think tank before returning to graduate school. 

Since beginning work on her dissertation, entitled “Blood Lines: Racial Formation and Contests for Citizenship in America, 1877-1924,” Claire has taught classes in American history, African American history, and U.S. Foreign Relations at Yale University, Wesleyan University, and the University of New Hampshire.  Her work has won awards from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York, the American Philosophical Society Library, the U.S. Department of Education (Jacob K. Javits Fellowship), and Yale University (the Robert M. Leylan Fellowship in the Humanities and the Sterling Prize Fellowship).

Dave, Claire’s much-beloved younger brother, could nevertheless argue her into frustrated silence on topics of American history and U.S. Foreign Relations.

Director, Charles Ricciardelli, Esq.

Charles is a Political Law associate in the Washington, DC office of the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Prior to joining the Political Law group, he worked as a corporate associate in Skadden's New York office, representing investment advisers in the formation and operation of private equity and hedge funds.

As a student at Georgetown University Law Center, Charles taught a first-year class in Legal Research & Writing and served as a member of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Charles received his B.S. in Science, Technology, and International Affairs from Georgetown University in 2000.

Charles was elected to the Board in 2013 and aims to further develop the Foundation's outreach efforts within the legal community in and around the Washington, DC area.

Director, Andrew Sparkler, Esq.

Andrew Sparkler, Esq.
asparkler@daveneefoundation.org

Andrew is the Associate Director of Legal Corporate at the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.  Prior to joining ASCAP, Andrew was an Entertainment Associate at Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP.  After graduating from law school, Andrew worked as an Employment and Employee Benefits Associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.  He attended the Fordham University School of Law where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal.  Andrew earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University. Recently, Andrew was named the New York State Bar Assocation’s 2009 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year.

Director, Dean Vetsikas

Dean is a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional and Financial Planning Specialist at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Philadelphia. His practice serves foundations, endowments, corporate executives, retirees, entrepreneurs, attorneys and closely held business owners.

Dean holds dual bachelor's in Mathematics and Physics from Colorado College, where he was named a Trustee Scholar. He completed his MS in Physics from the University of Washington in Seattle. The National Science Foundation funded much of Dean's geophysical research at the Friday Harbor Laboratories, Stony Brook's Center for High Pressure Research, Brookhaven National Laboratories, and the Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source.

Dean is also the Co-Founder of the Crescendo Club at the Curtis Institute of Music and serves as a strategic liaison to the Leopold Stokowski Society Committee. He had the good fortune of meeting and knowing Dave during Dave's studies at Fordham Law. Dean and his wife Julia live in Center City Philadelphia with their bulldog, Rosie.

Former Director, David Stoner, Esq.

David Stoner, Esq.
July 15, 1978 – December 4, 2010

The Board of Directors of the Dave Nee Foundation wish to express our profound sadness at the loss of our Vice President, Board Member, founder, and friend David Stoner, who passed away suddenly while out with friends on Saturday, December 4, 2010. David valued family and friendship above all else, and his devotion to those he loved exemplified many of the Dave Nee Foundation’s most fundamental beliefs: that no one needs to feel alone, that we must care for one another, and that through true friendship and stewardship we can overcome anything, even the disease of depression.

The Dave Nee Foundation was started by close friends, including David, who came together hoping to fill a void in our community. Thus, our Board Members are not strangers who converse only at Board meetings; most of us see and talk to each other many times a week on issues wholly unrelated to this organization. David was not just the Foundation’s Vice-President, but also our head chef, master party planner, leading authority on everything from sports trivia to how to tie a bow tie, and — most importantly — our dear friend.

The Dave Nee Foundation has named an award in David Stoner’s memory. The David S. Stoner Uncommon Counselor Award is given to a member of the legal profession who exhibits extraordinary compassion and concern for his co-workers, family, friends, and community. The Award is named in memory of David S. Stoner, a founding Director and Vice President of the Dave Nee Foundation from 2006 to 2010. David Stoner, a close friend of Dave Nee, valued family and friendship above all else, and his devotion to those he loved was unparalleled. David's respect and compassion for others was unmatched and his life was a shining example of many of the Foundation’s most fundamental beliefs: that no one needs to feel alone, that we must care for one another, and that through true friendship and stewardship we can overcome anything, even the disease of depression.

A separate website has been set up to collect photos and memories of David Stoner. Please visit by clicking here.

Below is an unedited interview of David Stoner taped in the Summer of 2009 for the Dave Nee Foundation Tribute Video. We thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the Dave Nee Foundation and we will never forget our dear friend, “Stoner.”
 

David Stoner Talks about Dave Nee and the Foundation’s Mission

Development Consultant, Stephanie Arcella

Stephanie Arcella
sarcella@daveneefoundation.org 

The Board of Directors of The Dave Nee Foundation is pleased to announce that Stephanie Arcella has joined the organization as its Development Consultant as of July 2011.  With Stephanie’s guidance, the Foundation plans to grow its supporter and partnership base to deepen the impact of its programming, Uncommon Counsel, which works to raise awareness about depression and prevent suicide in the legal community, and is the only program of its type in the nation.  Stephanie will also oversee the Foundation’s grant administration, which supports organizations devoted to preventing suicide amongst adolescents and young adults.

Andrew Sparkler, the President of the Dave Nee Foundation said that “the addition of Stephanie is, without a doubt, one of the proudest moments in the history of our organization.  Her passion, experience and demeanor are an ideal fit for us and we are truly honored to have her on board.”

Stephanie brings 10 years of fundraising and social service experience to the position, including counseling within a mental health agency in the Bronx, Morris Heights Health Center, and fundraising and development work within Sakhi for South Asian Women, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and the professional fundraising groups, TakeTwo Services (www.take2services.com) and Lawson Associates.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Pennsylvania State University and a Master in Social Work degree from Fordham University at Lincoln Center.

Wynne Kelly, Vice President of the Dave Nee Foundation, stated, “Stephanie’s extensive work in the not-for-profit community, her professional and academic experience with mental health issues, and her charisma make her perfectly-suited for the Dave Nee Foundation.  We are truly blessed to have a professional of Stephanie’s caliber lead us into the next stage of development of the organization.”

Programming Consultant, Katherine Bender

Katherine Bender, MS, NCC
kbender@daveneefoundation.org

Upon graduating from Georgetown University as an English and Theology major, Katherine Bender began teaching at an independent Catholic secondary school for girls in Philadelphia.  During this time,  she became increasingly interested in the social concerns of young women and decided to pursue a degree in community counseling with a focus on women’s issues at the University of Scranton. After completing an internship providing individual counseling to undergraduate students at a residential college, as part of her Masters degree in counseling, she began working as a full time mental health counselor for college students in Daytona Beach, Florida. 

Recognizing that advocating for students with mental health issues in higher education would likely require a Ph.D., Kate began her doctoral work at Old Dominion University in January of 2011 and is currently a doctoral candidate conducting research for her dissertation on college student suicide prevention. 

She joined the team at the Dave Nee Foundation as Programming Consultant in September of 2012 and in this role will coordinate the Uncommon Counsel program and LawLifeline.  She sees her role with the Dave Nee Foundation as an excellent way to continue to provide outreach services and to raise awareness about depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention for higher education students.